Nomination Deadline: March 1st

The prize was established and endowed in 1939 by Daniel W. Mead, Hon.M.ASCE, a Society past president. The contest provides an opportunity for alert young civil engineers to further their professional development and gain national attention.

Award

Up to 5 winners will be chosen. First place will receive a plaque. Other winners will receive certificates.

2025 Recipient

  • Sarah Hendrix, S.M.ASCE

Read the 2025 award-winning paper (PDF)

View all winners

2025 Topic

Consider the Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse in Maryland, the Interstate 95 Collapse in Pennsylvania, or other infrastructure disasters. Civil engineers are responsible for planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting and advancing the health, safety, and welfare of the public. Following large infrastructure disasters, civil engineers are often placed in the public spotlight to respond and assess the cause of the disaster and how to prevent future similar events.

Considering ethics, what role do civil engineers play in the prevention and response to an infrastructure disaster? Should an infrastructure disaster rouse civil engineers globally to advocate for more resilient protections for built infrastructure from climate-driven and/or man-made disasters?

Authors are encouraged to develop and apply their own original thoughts. The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing models (NLP) such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT© are neither encouraged nor discouraged. However, if such models are used, all instances shall be cited as work completed by the respective generative AI/NLP. Failure to cite all instances of generative AI/NLP use will be considered plagiarism.

Citation information can be found starting at the references section of this page.

Entries for the contest shall be limited to 1 paper from each ASCE or AEI Student Organization and must be submitted through the Faculty Advisor.

Questions should be directed to ASCE Student Services.

Rules

  1. The Daniel W. Mead Prize for Students may be awarded annually on the basis of a paper on professional ethics. Each year the specific topic of the contest for the forthcoming year shall be selected by the Committee on Student Members for the Student Award.
  2. Members of Student Organizations of the Society who are in good standing at the time their papers are submitted are eligible for the contest, unless they have previously received the national award for which they are competing.
  3. Papers for the national contests shall (a) be limited to 1 paper from each Student Organization; (b) not exceed 2,000 words in length; (c) be written by only 1 person; and (d) not have previously been published in other school or Society publications.
  4. The Committee on Student Members shall review each submission and recommend the top five student papers as Society finalists, of which one may be selected as the national winner for approval by the Executive Committee.
  5. All finalists shall receive an appropriate certificate recognizing their achievements. If there is a national winner, they shall receive a wall plaque rather than a certificate.

Nomination

To nominate, a completed submission will consist of a single .pdf file containing:

  1. Cover letter, from the Faculty Advisor stating the name, ASCE/AEI member ID number, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address for the paper's author.
  2. The paper being submitted.

The name of the file shall follow this format:

Mead Student Prize - Author's Last Name - Name of University.pdf

Submissions should be sent to [email protected] and must be received on or before 11:59 pm (EST) March 1.